May 24, 2011
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Affordably Build Your Brand
FedEx Global Brand Management Director Monica Skipper shares a cost-effective way to build a bigger brand for your small business.
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Some businesses look really boring. Can you imagine the excitement you’d experience every day if you were the owner of a gutter-cleaning franchise?
Your daily duties would probably include:
- Neighborhood canvassing
- Hiring, firing and training of hourly employees
- Customer appointment scheduling
- Equipment repair
- Payroll
Let’s face it; service businesses are in existence to provide services, whether it’s gutter cleaning, pressure washing, lawn care, or house cleaning. They just don’t ooze with excitement. It’s too bad; these businesses are very scalable, and are pretty resistant to technology-related takeovers. For example, there probably won’t be robots available to do the things that we need done around our houses in our lifetimes.
If you’ve been thinking about becoming your own boss, have you skipped over the service franchise sector because it’s just not that sexy? What’s the matter; can’t you get excited about climbing a ladder, (or watching your employees climb a ladder) to clean some gutters? Are you “too good” to do something like that? What if you were able to make the type of income that you wanted to? Would you be able to move past the “image” that the business portrays if you could achieve your goals?
There’s a service franchise out of Canada that has tackled its industry’s image problem in a truly innovative way: the company has decided to focus on the way its services are delivered, by changing its employees' uniforms.
Now, lots of businesses periodically change the look of their employees’ uniforms, but only to freshen things up a bit. The business I’m talking about changed their employees’ uniforms for one reason, and one reason only: to dominate their industry.
You see, the male employees of this service business—the ones climbing ladders—wear kilts.
Imagine driving down the street on your way to work seeing two rather burly-looking men in kilts carrying 30-foot ladders across someone’s finely manicured lawn. Would you stop in your tracks just to see what was going on? Would the other drivers on the same street do the same thing?
The name of this Canadian franchisor is Men in Kilts. Their mission:
“We are committed to delivering a professional, unique service experience while bringing smiles to the faces of all those we encounter...one kilt at a time.”
Nicholas Brand, Men in Kilts founder, wanted to develop a business that really got people’s attention. I think he’s succeeded, judging by the reactions on one of their YouTube videos.
Will something as simple as a change in uniform be enough to allow this franchisor to dominate its sector of franchising? Do they have top-notch systems, first-class training, and great office technology to support their brand’s growth?
Men in Kilts expanded to the U.S. last month, with the first location opening in Seattle. Now I’m wondering if Men in Kilts has legs.
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Joel Libava 11 months ago
Thanks for stopping by, and commenting, Catherine.I love the idea, and it may have "legs."The Franchise King®@FranchiseKing